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(No Modei F. M. EVERETT.

(EL-AMP FOR HOLDING GUN BARREL-S WHILE BEING CLEANED. No. 355,154. Patented Dec. 28, 1886.

Illllllllllll IN VENTOR WITNESSES:

M PETERS, PholwLithognpher. Waihingin'n. D. C.

in Figs. 1, 2, 3:

ilNiTEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK M. EVERETT, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

' CLAMP FOR HOLDING GUN-BARRELS WHILE BEING CLEANED.

QPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No:355,154, dated December 28, 1886.

Application filed August 4, 1886.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK M. EVERETT, of Washington, District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Holding Gun -Barrels for Cleaning them, of which the following is a specification.

For want of a convenient and suitable apparatus or device for holding shotgun-barrels while cleaning them, it is the common practice to hold them in one hand and force the cleaner through with the other. It is very difficult to clean them properly in this manner when rusty or unusually foul, and resort is frequently had to a bench-vise for clamping the-m securely; but, gun-barrels being ordinarily madebf soft metal, this plan is objectionable on account of the danger of the vise compressing or indenting them. To meet this difficulty and supply the want thus indicated, I have devised an apparatus in the nature of a clamp or holder for gun-barrels which is cheap, portable, and very convenient in use. It consists, mainly, of clamping devices adapted to be secured to a plate, bar, or stock, which may be in turn clamped to a table or held in a vise.

The construction and combination of parts are as hereinafter described and claimed.

111 the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my holder secured to a table and having gun-barrels clamped to it in the required position for cleaning. Fig. 1 is a perspective View (part being broken away) of one end of the holder, the clamps proper being detached. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the holder through one set of the clamps. Fig.3 is a side view of the holder folded. Fig. 4. is a crosssection of the holder, showing a clamp of modified construction. Fig. 5 is a plan view of a holder of modified form.

I will first describe the invention illustrated The wooden stock or bar A is preferably made about thirty-four inches in lengththat is to say, somewhat longer than the barrels of breech-loading shotguns in general use.

The devices for clamping and holding the barrels 'while being cleaned are applied to the stock A a few inches from its respective ends. Each clampingdevice 13 consists of two parts,

Serial No. 210,004. (No model.)

11, formed of a slotted horizontal portion and a standing portion curvinginward. The horizontal portions have lengthwise slots and fit somewhatloosely in shallow transverse grooves 4, formed in the face of stock A, so that both parts 1 1 slide easily toward or from each other. The screw-bolts 3 3 are fixed vertically in the stock A, and their threaded ends project through the slots of clamps 1 1.

To prevent the bolts turning when the nuts 2 2 are being worked, they are provided With polygonal shanks, as shown in Fig. 2.

The curved portions of the clamp 1 1 project inward or toward each other, and their upper ends are far enough above the stock A to permit them to pass over an eight-bore barrel. The clamps are thus adapted for use on barrels ranging from eight to twenty borethat is to say, on the barrels of any size of shotgun ordinarily used for sporting purposes. One set of clamps is made somewhat larger than the other, to adapt them for use on the breech and muzzle ends of the barrels, re spectively. Just in front of the smaller clamp, 13, is placed a shallow cup or box, G, for the purpose of receiving dirt, rust, wads, &c., ejected from the barrels in the operation of cleaning. This cup is made of some cheap material, such as tinned or cast iron. It is placed in a recess formed in the stock A, and is thus adapted to be readily detached for the purpose of emptying it. The stock A is preferably made of two parts hinged together, and

thus adapted. to fold, as shown in Fig. 3, for convenience of packing and transportation.

To use the holder, the stock A is secured to a table by means of ascrew-clamp, D, as shown in Fig. 1. The nuts 2 2 are loosened and the devices 1 1 slid apart as far as the slots allow. The double gun-barrel is placed between them top side down, so that the eXtension-riblies in the lengthwise groove 5 in the stock, as in Fig. 1. The muzzle end of the barrel should project over the cup, as shown. The clamps 1 1' are then pushed up to the barrel, and held pressed against it while the nuts 2 2 are being turned down, which secures the barrel immovably. The swab or cleaner is then inserted and pushed through, (see Fig. 1,) and the cleaning operation may be performed with great convenience, dispatch, and effectiveness,

with comparatively little exertion, and without soiling the hands or floor, as is frequently the case when the barrel is held in the hand in the usual way.

I will now briefly describe some proposed modifications. Instead of the two-part clamp above described, I may combine the parts 1 1 ormake them integral, as shown in Fig. 4. In such case, in order to adapt the clamp for use on barrels of different sizes, they may be made of rubber: In Fig. 5 I show the clamps 1 1 attached to base-plates or short bars 6, that are arranged longitudinally parallel to them, and these plates 6 may be attached to and thus connected bya bar, A. The latter is obviously adapted to be secured to a table by a screw-clamp, D, applied as shown in Fig. 1.

What I claim is- 20 1. Theimprovcdportableapparatusforholding gun-barrels while cleaning them, the same F. M. EVERETT.

Witnesses:

HAROLD BIRD, AMOS W. HART. 

